This invention relates to machine tool guides and in particular to a guide for an electric router or sander which is adapted to cooperate with a portable wood milling machine.
Portable wood mills are compact wood sawing machines adapted for longitudinally slicing tree logs into planks. Such mills generally comprise a track system for guiding a large bandsaw or chainsaw along the length of a log. The portable and lightweight construction of such mills allows timber to be harvested on site and cut into manageable planks for transport and further machining.
Such portable mills are not generally regarded or used as xe2x80x9cfinishingxe2x80x9d tools and produce rough sawn timber for further handling.
Whilst portable mills are not currently used for refined or finishing machining the guiding Systems and wood handling facilities available with portable mills would not exclude such machining if suitable guides were available for use with finishing machine tools like the electric router and sander.
In one aspect the invention provides a guide for a machine tool comprising a housing adapted for mounting onto and traversal along an elongate track, said housing including a carriage means for mounting a guide arm for controlled movement relative to said track, said guide arm having a mount for fitting said machine tool wherein said housing has at least one top track wheel, at least one side track wheel and at least one oblique track wheel adapted for rolling along the top, side and edge of said elongate track respectively.
The top, side and oblique track wheels are preferably adapted for rolling along opposing surfaces of said track so as to provide snug engagement of the housing to the track.
The oblique track wheel preferably simultaneously opposes both top and side track wheels.
The track may include a lower channel section and a raised side portion.
The top and oblique track wheels may include xe2x80x9cVxe2x80x9d groove treads with the top tread adapted to straddle said raised side portion of the elongate track and the oblique track wheel straddling a lower edge of the elongate track The bottom track wheel may include either a xe2x80x9cVxe2x80x9d or flat tread.
The housing most preferably unfolds to facilitate installation onto said track at any point along the length of said track.
The guide arm may be of square channel section mounted diagonally within said carriage to prevent radial co-axial movement but allow linear co-axial movement within said carriage. The linear movement of the guide arm may be controlled by a threaded screw.